Agriculture secretary unveils plan to stop China’s farmland grab, bio-material smuggling threats

The Trump administration is moving to prevent foreign adversaries from owning farmland in the United States, following reports that foreign entities own nearly 45 million acres of agricultural land.

During a Tuesday morning press conference, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the National Farm Security Action Plan, a multi-agency effort to protect America's food supply by banning foreign rivals, including Chinese entities, from purchasing farmland in the U.S.

'We are working to issue regulatory action to remove over 550 entities from foreign countries of concern from our preferred catalog.'

Rollins was joined at the press briefing by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and White House trade adviser Peter Navarro.

"American agriculture is not just about feeding our families but about protecting our nation and standing up to foreign adversaries who are buying our farmland, stealing our research, and creating dangerous vulnerabilities in the very systems that sustain us," Rollins stated.

The action plan includes "seven critical areas," as outlined on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's website. These areas focus on increasing transparency and imposing stricter penalties for foreign ownership of farmland. Additionally, it emphasizes redirecting domestic investments to strengthen supply chain resilience, combating foreign crime syndicates and biological threats, safeguarding research, and ensuring the USDA aligns with the administration's America First agenda.

The USDA aims to partner with state leaders and members of Congress to swiftly implement executive action and legislation to prevent "countries of concern or other foreign adversaries" from purchasing farmland.

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Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

Rollins stated that the Trump administration would use presidential authorities to "claw back what has already been purchased by China and other foreign adversaries."

She noted that she signed a memo on Tuesday, canceling USDA-affiliated contracts or research arrangements with 70 citizens from countries of concern.

Rollins added, "We are working to issue regulatory action to remove over 550 entities from foreign countries of concern from our preferred catalog."

The agency will roll out an online portal for those in the agricultural industry to "report possible false or failed reporting and compliance with respect to [the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act]."

As of December 2023, nearly 45 million acres of agricultural land are owned by foreign countries, including hundreds of thousands of acres by Chinese entities, according to a report by AFIDA.

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Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Another top goal of the administration's action plan is to address biological material threats. This follows reports in June that federal authorities arrested multiple Chinese nationals who allegedly attempted to smuggle biological material into the United States.

During Tuesday's press conference, Bondi stated that two of the individuals allegedly involved in the schemes had ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

"It's going to stop. FBI has opened over 100 bio-smuggling investigations in recent years," Bondi said.

She also stated that the administration is cracking down on pesticide trafficking across the southern border, noting that "illegal and highly toxic chemicals from Mexico were smuggled into the U.S."

"The Department of Justice is prioritizing the arrest of those illegal aliens doing it," Bondi added.

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